Detachable tufting in articles of furniture and the like



Sept. 10, 1963 w. P. BAERMANN 3,103,082

DETACHABLE TUFTING IN ARTICLES OF FURNITURE AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 14, 1961 FIG] WALTER P. BAERMAN Iii w 4017 Patented Sept. 10, 1963 3,ltl3,tl82 DETACHAIBLE TUI TING IN ARTICLES 61 FURNITURE AND THE LIKE Waiter P. Baermann, Waynesville, N.C., assignor to Prestige Furniture Corporation, Newton, N .C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Sept. 14, 1961, Ser. No. 138,024 4 Claims. (-Cl. 45-438) This invention, in general, relates to improvements concerned with articles of furniture and component parts thereof. The invention, in particular, has relation to improvements in the tufting of cushions, padding or the like, especially in articles of furniture such as chairs, love seats, sofas, etc. The tufting of padding, cushions and other resilient articles covered with a fabric or sheet material is ordinarily done for one or two reasons. First, the tufting serves to anchor at various places the fabric cover on the resilient cushion. Secondly, the tufting is considered by many to be a decorative feature of an article of furniture or the like. This invention is concerned with structural improvements for the tufting of resilient paddings, cushions or the like wherein the tufting means includes structure by which the fabric covering or other sheet material is readily detachable from the part of the tufting structure which holds opposite sides of the resilient cushioning or padding in compressed relationship. This is especially advantageous where the fabric covering or other sheet material is designed in a manner so that it is easily removable from the cushioning for the purpose of cleaning the cover.

it is, accordingly, an object of the invention to provide improvements in tufted articles of furniture or the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide improvements in the structure by which resilient cushioning or padding is tufted.

A still further object of the invention is to provide improvements in the detachable mounting of a fabric cover on the tufting structure of a resilient cushion, padding or the like.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and claims together with the accompanying drawing, which, by way of illustration, shows the principles thereof in the form of a preferred embodiment of the invention for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made if desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and principles of the invention.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an article of furniture, in this case a sectional piece, showing a tufted backrest;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary crosssectional view in side elevation taken on section 2-2 of the sectional piece of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detailed view in cross-section of one of the tufted portions of the backrest of the sectional piece; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective, exploded View of the component parts of the tufting assembly shown in detail in FIG. 3.

The tufting means herein described and the principles thereof are applicable to many types of furniture or padding, including living room furniture, dining room furniture, porch furniture, kitchen furnishings and padding for kitchen sets, chairs and the like as well as for padded furnishings, such as airplane seats, train seats, automobile seats and many others. The invention can be used with existing types of furniture or furnishings, or padding therefor, as well as for new designs for furniture, furnishings or the like. There is shown in the drawing, for purposes of illustration of one application of the invention,

an embodiment of my new innovation in furniture construction. The following description of this article of furniture, the sectional piece shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is made in sufficient detail in order to understand and apply the principles of the invention claimed. For further details relative to the structure of my new innovation in articles of furniture, reference is made to my copending application Serial No. 81,080 and copending application Serial No. 91,017, filed January 6, 1961, now Patent No. 3,055,708, issued September 25, 1962, and February 23, 1961, respectively, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference as if they had been set forth in their entirety. Reference is also made to my copcn'ding application lilcd of even date herewith relative to another new innovation in articles of furniture relating to seating construction therefor.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the sectional piece 1, illustrated in the drawing comprises a wooden supporting frame having a pair of longitudinal slats 2 and 3. The ends of the slat 3 are attached to transverse slabs 4. The ends of the slabs 2 and 4 are securely mounted on or in front and rear supporting legs 5 situated at the four corners of the sectional piece. The rear legs 5 are longer than the front legs and extend approximately midway up the backrest 9 and are attached to the shell portion forming the backrest 9 by means of bolts or screws 6.

The seat portion of the sectional piece is provided with seat cushions 7 of conventional foam rubber or other construction. It has one padded side arm rest 8 and padded backrest 9. In the design illustrated, the back 9 has a pair of small side wings 10, one of which merges into a side supporting panel 11 lying substantially flush with the cushion 7.

The framework for the sectional piece is a rectangular, open, tubular metal frame 12, the front and rear legs of which are shown in FIG. 2. The side legs are not shown. The rear leg has a bracket 13 attached to the bottom surface thereof, which bracket 13 is bolted 0r screwed on the rear slat 3 to rigidly connect the metal frame with the wooden understructurc. A similar bracket 14 connects the front leg of the frame 12 and front slat 2 of the understructure.

The supports for the seating portion and the backrest are provided by an upper or front shell designated generally by the numeral 15 and a lower or rear shell desig nated generally by the numeral 16. The upper and lower shells telescope together in the seat portion 17 in the manner hereinafter described.

The shells of the embodiment illustrated are molded units which can be made by felting cellulose fibers from an aqueous slurry onto a porous former or die on which the fibers accumulate to the desired thickness. In practice, is is preferable to make each shell as a preform of molded fiber and each preform is dried to produce a final shell having a thickness from about i to 7 They are shaped so that they telescope into each other and have coinciding edges along the front, bottom, sides and back with :an air space in the sides and back. The shells are bonded together at points where they coincide either by means of an adhesive or stapling or the like to produce a unitary shell having hollow back and sides.

While the multiple shell structure is preferably made from cellulose, other materials which are moldable to self-sustaining structures may be used including, for example, thermoplastic sheet materials, mixtures of cellulose fibers and out bundles of glass filaments (cut rovings), mixtures of cellulose fibers and synthetic fibers (e.g., polyamides such as nylon, polyesters such as Dacron), mixtures containing rubber, mixtures containing synthetic rubber, and the like. The various mixtures may also contain binders or reinforcing substances. Thus, mixtures of cellulose fibers and cut glass rovings (Vs inch to 6 inches in length) containing to 95% cellulose based on the weight of the total fibers and 5% to 25% by weight of a polyester resin afford excellent shell structures for the purpose of the invention. Similanly, asbestos and other fibers can be used.

The molded upper shell comprises a front panel 18 integral with a panel 19 at right angles thereto. Panel 19 is connected to'a downwardly sloping panel 20 joined at an obtuse angle to the panel 21 having a more shallow angle of slope than the panel 20. The panel 21 is joined to the panel 22 at an obtuse angle, the latter panel having a slightly lesser downward slope than the panel 21. The panel 22 joins the panel 23 at an obtuse angle and slopes upwardly to the substantially vertical panel 24, which in turn is connected at right angles with panel 25. Beyond the panel 25 the wall of the upper shell 15 slopes upwardly in a curved pattern to provide a backrest for the sectional piece. At the top of the curved panel 26 the shell is bent to provide a top edge 27, at which point the upper shell terminates.

The lower or rear shell 16 comprises a back panel 28 spaced from the panel 26 so as to form a hollow shell with the upper edge of the panel 28 secured to the terminal edge [of the panel 27 by adhesive, stapling or other suitable means. The remainder of the lower shell 16 comprises a narrow bottom panel 29, an upwardly sloping panel 30 and panels 31-38 having a shape sub stantially conforming with the shape of the panels 18-25 of the upper shell 15. The dimensions of the last-mentioned panels of the lower shell 15 are such that the panels 2il24 telescope inside said panels to form a seat well having a depth greater at the rear portion than at the front portion. The two shells form a strong supporting structure.

The seat portions of the two shells are shaped to provide a peripheral groove in which the metal framework 12 rests upon the assemblage of the shells with the framework of the furniture. The front and rear grooves or recesses are shown in FIG. 2, while the side recesses are not shown. After proper positioning on the metal frame, the shells are securely fastened thereto by means of metal screws, bolts or other suitable fastening means.

A resilient support for the seat of the sectional piece is provided by a pair of bracket members 39 and 4t positioned along the front and rear edges of the seat well 17. These bracket members are securely mounted on the shells and hold therein a series of spaced, stretched elastic bands 41 situated along the length of (the seating portion of the furniture. The details of this specific supporting means is described and illustrated in greater detail in my aforesaid copending application filed concurrently herewith.

A thin cushion 42 of flexible and preferably elastic material rests on the elastic bands 4i, and upon the former is placed the cushions 7 of the sectional piece. The sectional piece also has a fabric segment 43 extending over and covering a front panel of resilient or rigid material 47, the end of the fabric piece 43 being attached to the rear face of the panel 33 of the lower shell 16.

The backrest of the sectional piece is padded with a piece of foam rubber or other porous, resilient plastic 45 and is covered with a fabric cover 46, which may also be of other sheet materials, such as synthetic plastics simulating leather and like sheeting materials pleasing to the eye and suitable for use on articles of furniture. At spaced points on the backrest 9, the backrest is tufted by tufting means 44, which is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. The tufting means 44 comprises a rear plate 48 which is, in the case illustrated, a disc-shaped plate having a rounded edge 49. The central portion of the wear plate 48 is slightly dished and has an opening in the center thereof.

In assembled form, an end of a rivet shank 51 extends through the hole in the rear plate 43 and the edges the central portion thereof.

, the segments of the snaps are snapped together.

4:.- 52 of the mivet shank are deformed so that the rivet is securely positioned. The shank 51 of the rivet is of a relatively short length so that the compressible cushion 45 between the rear plate 45 and the front plate is compressed to form front and rear depressions or indentations in (the surface of the cushioning 45.

The front plate 55 is held in position by the head 53 of the rivet, which head 53 has a male portion 54 of a snap member centrally positioned on the outer face of said head. The male portion 54 is made up of an outwandly tapering, round wall forming a hollow space in The front plate 55 preferably is a disc-shaped plate having a rounded peripheral edge and preferably is of somewhat smaller diameter than the rear plate 48.

A hollow socket portion 56 containing a snap ring 57 is snapped over the male portion 54-. This socket has a disc-shaped outer face 58 to which is riveted by rivet 59 a hollow button so in the shape of a frusto cone. Other shapes are equally suitable. The button 60 is preferably covered with fabric or other decorative sheetin g material, or paint or the like. In the case illustrated,

the button 60 is covered by fabric 61 adhesively or otherwise suitably secured to the button 6%.

The fabric 46 for the backrest is securely held between the button 60 and the front face 58 of the socket 56. When the fabric cover 46 is placed over the backrest 9 and its cushioning 45, it already has mounted therein in proper positions the buttons 6% and the socket members 56. Similarly, the front and rear plates 45, 55 are riveted by the rivet 51 prior to applying the cover over the backrest 9 of the sectional piece. Each of these steps can be done by machine prior to assemblage of the components of the furniture. It is then simply a matter of attaching the fabric 45 along the rear or bottom of the shell 16 and drawing it over the cushioning 45, after which Sim- ' ilarly, should it be desired to clean the fabric 46, it can be detached from the shell at the points at which it is secured and the snaps can be unsnapped, thus allowing the fabric to be cleaned by ordinary dry cleaning or other methods in a cleaning establishment or in a home laundry unit.

It will, thus, be seen from the foregoing description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, that the present invention provides new improvements in articles of furniture and in tufting means therefor having novel features, advantages and characteristics and accomplishing its intended objectives, including those hereinbefore pointed out and others which are inherent in the invention.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. In an article of furniture, a cushion of flexible, resilient material with a surface covered by a fabric, said resilient material having indentations at spaced points pro- 7 vided by squeezing together opposite sides of said cushion between a pair of plates mounted on opposite sides of said cushion and held together with the cushion squeezed therebetween by an interconnecting pin, a stud on said pin forming a male portion of a snap member, and a button having a. socket member snapped over said stud with said fabric covering said surface held between said button and said socket member.

2. A cushion comprising a body of resilient, spongy material, a cover sheet over a surface of said body, a rivet mounted in said body, the rivet head of said rivet carrying a stud forming a male portion of a snap member and a button having a socket snapped over said stud with said cover sheet held between said button and said socket.

3. A cushion comprising a body of resilient, porous plastic forming a resilient cushion, said cushion having an indentation made by squeezing together opposite sides of said cushion with a pair of plates held together by a rivet with the cushion compressed therebetween, a head on said rivet with a stud forming a male portion of a snap member snapped over said stud, and a button riveted to said socket on said head, a socket snapped over said stud, a button member. riveted to said socket, and a covering sheet over the surface of said cushion with said sheet held between said References Cited in the file of this Patent g e f 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS artlce 1o manu acture comprising a rivet wit a Shank and a rivet head, a stud forming a male portion fig:

of a snap member on said I iVGt head, a socket member 

1. IN AN ARTICLE OF FURNITURE, A CUSHION OF FLEXIBLE, RESILIENT MATERIAL WITH A SURFACE COVERED BY A FABRIC, SAID RESILIENT MATERIAL HAVING INDENTATIONS AT SPACED POINTS PROVIDED BY SQUEEZING TOGETHER OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID CUSHION BETWEEN A PAIR OF PLATES MOUNTED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID CUSHION AND HELD TOGETHER WITH THE CUSHION SQUEEZED THEREBETWEEN BY AN INTERCONNECTING PIN, A STUD ON SAID PIN FORM- 